My Connections to Play

"Mastery is the goal. Competence is the reward. And play is the means. Play is children's work. Through toys, games, role plays, and imaginative use of equipment and materials, children develop physically, intellectually, linguistically, emotionally, and socially."

"Play is the great equalizer. It is universal, natural human pursuit."

Reference:

Rivera, M. (2009). The powerful effect of play in a child's education. Education Digest, 75(2), 50-52.

As a young child, I remember wanting to play all the time. It was a natural part of growing up, that I can't imagine living without. Through play, I developed friendships, stayed active, and learned about the world from my older siblings. Growing up in a large family, there was always someone to play with and we always had neighbors that we got together with as well. We lived out of town in the country for much of my childhood and the neighbors, my siblings, and myself explored the area on our bikes a lot. We rode trails, packed lunches, explored abandoned homes, picked berries, and more on our bikes. We talked and developed friendships while we enjoyed the outdoors together. While riding bikes we would talk to each other, making conversation and learning from each other. Other games that we enjoyed playing and did so over and over again through the years are baseball and capture the flag. We always had enough kids to break up into teams and play games that would last all day long. Playing capture the flag was exciting and involved lots of strategy, spying, and running around! 

My parents supported play by making sure that wherever we lived we had opportunities to play outdoors. Every time we moved, one of the first things my dad would do was build a play structure with swings, a slide, and a fort. They always made sure that our house was a safe place for us to live and freely play. Today my role in play is to support my daughter by interacting with her in her favorite play times. She is five and loves pretend play. She loves to play in her bedroom and loves to dance. I provide opportunities for her to play with friends and provide a safe environment for her to explore and play in. I also have to limit her time watching television. Even with how much my daughter loves to be active and play, I have found that television and electronics can be very addictive. I think it is one of the biggest changes that I have seen working with children and teenagers. The role of electronics is very powerful and changes many of their social interactions. They are not as active and many of their interactions are not face-to-face anymore. For my daughter, I hope to find a good balance between play and the media. I understand the importance of play and love to watch my daughter interact with other children and express herself through dance and play. 

I believe that play is important for all ages. Everyone needs to have personal interests and fun physical activity in their lives!

Here are a few pictures from my childhood. Bikes allowed us to explore and play structures allowed us to  develop play schemes and games easier.

Relationship Reflection

Relationships create meaning and shape everyday experiences for people of all ages. For children in particular relationships are of extreme importance. "All learning takes place in the context of relationships and is critically affected by the quality of those relationships" (Edelman, 2004 p. 1). Currently, I have many relationships that affect my daily life. When I think of healthy relationships, I think that loyalty, trust, compassion, respect, empathy, love, stability, and predictability are just a few of the things that hold them together. My husband and daughter are the most important relationships in my life right now, and they shape all of my day-to-day decisions and actions. My friends, extended family, co-workers, students and students' families are other relationships that affect my life.

Relationships are important to me because people in a relationship support each other and uplift each other. They help each other through difficult times, and they bring joy to each other in times of happiness. Relationships are not easy to maintain. Every relationship that I have ever been in takes time and effort to maintain. It takes work to make it grow, but a positive relationship is worth all the hard work. Communication and compromise have been key to maintaining my relationships.

My relationships at work and my relationships at home affect each other greatly. As much as I would like to always keep them separate, both are such a big part of my life it is impossible. My professional experience working with students, families, and co-workers has taught me patience and emotional control. I feel that it has benefitted my personal relationships at home greatly. Having positive and strong relationships at home motivates me to maintain a positive attitude at work and keep striving for improvement. I am dedicating this space on my blog to the relationships most important in my life, my husband and daughter.

Reference:

Edelman, L. (2004). A relationship-based approach to early intervention. Resources and Connections, 3(2). Retrieved fromhttp://olms.cte.jhu.edu/olms/data/resource/1144/A%20Relationship-based%20Approach%20to%20Early%20Intervention.pdf

Quotes about Child Development

“Young children are open to all senses and opportunities to explore.”

Dr. Alison Gopnik

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). Early childhood development: Studying child development: Lessons learned. Baltimore, MD: Author.

I chose this quote because childhood is an amazing and fragile time in human development. Children experience new things daily and it is important for caregivers to shape and mold those experiences.

A few of my favorite quotes from the famous Dr. Seuss book, Oh. The Places You’ll Go!:

“You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Each day is valuable in a child’s life, and I love this book for thinking about how important our youth is.

“You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

I believe with a strong foundation in childhood, people can make the right choices later and get through anything.

How to assess intelligence?

Many experts in the field of education believe that people have multiple intelligences, or essentially they have strengths and weaknesses in different areas of their knowledge and abilities. According to Howard Gardner, there are nine different types of intelligences: language, math, music, spatial, body movement, social, self-understanding, nature, and existential. According to his theory, people have some ability in all nine intelligences, but are usually stronger or weaker in some areas. Understanding Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences can help educators understand a child's learning style better and adjust teaching strategies accordingly (Berger, 2012). I believe people are all smart in different ways, just like Howard Gardner explains with his theory on multiple intelligences. It is difficult for a test to measure a child's intelligence, when that intelligence is so complex.

Since 2002, with the creation of George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind Act" standardized testing in the United States has increased drastically. The law first required each state to test students on a yearly basis. Now students are tested in multiple subjects at different times throughout their formal education, and some of the tests are beginning to have very high consequences, such as a high school student not receiving a diploma or closing down schools that aren't testing high enough (standardizedtestsprocon.org). I believe that the standardized testing required by states is too expensive and too time-consuming. It takes away from other important subjects and areas of development. It creates a lot of pressure on teachers and students to do well on the test and many students experience test anxiety or just aren't good test-takers. The best way to test a child's knowledge and abilities is to let the child's individual learning style determine how he/she should be "tested."  "According to late education researcher Gerald W. Bracey, PhD, qualities that standardized tests cannot measure include 'creativity, critical thinking, resilience, motivation, persistence, curiosity, endurance, reliability, enthusiasm, empathy, self-awareness, self-discipline. leadership, civic-mindedness, courage, compassion, resourcefulness, sense of beauty, sense of wonder, honesty, integrity'"(standardizedtestsprocon.org). If I were to hire someone for a job, I would want to know about the things that Gerald W. Bracey describes, not how high the person scored on a math or reading test. Measuring the individual progress of a child is important so that we know if the child is learning and we can provide supports when necessary, but a standardized test is not the answer.

When thinking of testing, the first country that comes to mind is China because we have compared ourselves over the years to China by using test scores of the students in China, linking this information to "quality of education." When researching the topic, I found it surprising that The Chinese Ministry of Education is working to reduce the use of standardized testing in their schools. The reform prohibits testing in the early grades and creates more limits on testing for 4th grade and up. Furthermore the test scores are not allowed to be used for a quality rating of the school. Although they are working to change education policies it will take time for the changes to occur. The public overall is in support of the reform, but many may not believe that it will change things. "After all, many similar policies had been issued before with very little effect because ultimately students still have to compete for college admissions with test scores in Gaokao or college admissions test. More importantly, test scores have been so deeply rooted as the measure of educational quality and have been used to make significant decisions in education that it is impossible for parents, teachers, schools, and government officials to accept other measures" (Strauss, 2013).

References:
Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6^th ed.). New York, NY: Worth 
          Publishers

ProCon.org. (2013) Standardized Tests: Is the use of standardized tests improving education in America? Retrieved from http://standardizedtests.procon.org/?print=true

Strauss, V. (2013, Oct.). China's 10 new and surprising school reform rules. Washington Post. Retrieved from www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/30/chinas-10-new-school-reform-rules-reduce-standardized-testing-homework/

Stress and Child Development

Every child has some stress in their  life, whether it's about making friends or learning a new skill. Unfortunately, sometimes children grow up with an excessive amount of stress that could hinder their lifelong development, especially if they don't have a supportive and nurturing caregiver to help them through it. According to research studies, "children exposed to traumatic or stressful events have an increased probability of developing major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity" (Berger, 2012).

When I was about ten, my family lost everything we owned, bought a motorhome and drove across the country to "start over." My parents, five brothers, three sisters, and myself packed one backpack of belongings each and said goodbye to everything familiar, not really knowing what would happen next. We ended up driving to Alaska all the way from Florida. My parents sold everything they could before we moved in order to have a little cash to get started with. Fortunately, people were kind and my dad was motivated to find work. I knew we didn't have much and things were very stressful for many years. Other people helped, neighbors and community members mainly. I didn't ask for things or complain about things, my parents were stressed enough and needed help with my younger siblings. At the age of ten, I was pretty flexible with the changes and with my family all going through the same things, I didn't feel alone.

According to the article, Poverty, Family Stress and Parenting, written by Zahid Shahab Ahmed "economic deprivation leads to depression and stress in parents and ultimately dysfunction of the family" (Shahab, 2005). In my situation, the burden of the stress fell on my parents. My father became depressed and felt like a failure. My parents started fighting a lot and things got stressful due to their struggling relationship. When I was sixteen they divorced which opened a whole bunch of other stressors and that time a lot of the burden fell on me as the oldest child living at home. According to the Family Stress Model, long-term poverty creates family stressors and leads to lasting effects on the child's health and development. Although my family never went hungry or lived on the streets, the poverty affected us in other ways.

While researching poverty in other countries, I found that children in other countries may experience very serious side-effects of poverty such as:
-malnutrition
-little or no education
-child labor
-no access to safe water
-and lack of medical care.
"In Sierra Leone, 840 women in every 100,000 die in childbirth."
"In Italy, 4 in every 100,000 die in childbirth."
"Only 17% of the women in Sierra Leone use contraceptives compared to 88% in Norway."
(www.poverties.org)

The lack of education and medical care  make it almost impossible to break free of the poverty. The children are stuck in a cycle of living day to day and going without necessities.

References:

Ahmed, Z.S. (2005) Poverty, Family Stress & Parenting. Retrieved from: 
http://www.humiliationstudies.org/documents/AhmedPovertyFamilyStressParenting.pdf

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th Ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers

Poverties.org Research for social & economic development. (2013) Causes & effects of poverty on society, children & violence. Retrieved from: http://www.poverties.org/effects-of-poverty.html

"Breast is Best"

There are many advantages to breastfeeding, both for the mother and for the baby. It is free, sterile and the perfect balance of nutrients for the baby. Research shows that breastfed baby's get sick less and have lower rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease as adults. For the mother, breastfeeding lowers the chances of getting osteoporosis and breast cancer, as well as increases bonding with the baby and requires less preparation than formula (Berger, 2012).These are just a few of the benefits; the list of benefits to breastfeeding could go on and on.

Although doctors around the world recommend breastfeeding, the statistics are not that impressive. "In the United States, 75 percent of infants are breastfed at birth, 46 percent at six months (most with other food as well), and 22 percent at a year (virtually all with other food and drink)" (Berger, 2012). When researching information about the rest of the world, I found that "exclusive breastfeeding in the first four months of life varies from 1-90% depending on where the baby is born" (Osman, 2009). Many factors help determine whether a mother chooses to breastfeed, some include: "cultural beliefs, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, education, urbanization, modernization, and local feeding practices" (Osman, 2009).

A 2007 study done in Lebanon demonstrates how cultural beliefs can influence breastfeeding habits. "A study of breastfeeding prevalence in Lebanon in 2005 showed that while the initiation of breastfeeding is high, exclusive breastfeeding at one month was only 52% and declines further at four and six months. In that study, women cited insufficient milk, maternal or infant illness, the baby refusing the breast, and the baby being "old enough to stop" as the main reasons for stopping breastfeeding" (Osman, 2009). The 2007 study, created a hotline for new mothers to call with questions and concerns regarding breastfeeding. After analyzing and recording the phone calls, researchers found that the Lebanese woman had many cultural beliefs that interfering with successful breastfeeding. Many of the questions that came in to the hotline were in regards to the quality of the breast milk. Whether they could hurt the baby, depending on what foods they ate, if they were sick, or if the baby had jaundice. "Several mothers called the hotline for assistance to figure out whether their milk was "good" or "bad"" (Osman, 2009). Many concerns also revolved around producing enough milk or not producing enough and supplementing early on with formula. Some women thought that they could transfer pain from the breast milk to the baby. The study found that support from family and doctors is an integral part to establishing a healthy breastfeeding pattern for the mother and baby (Osman, 2009).

Breastfeeding is not necessarily an easy task to accomplish and maintain. From personal experience, breastfeeding can be very time consuming in the beginning to establish. It takes some practice from the mother and the baby to learn how to work together. Many questions and concerns can arise and having support from family, friends, and professionals is very important. I feel that breastfeeding is very rewarding and creates a special bond between baby and mother that I still cherish today with my own daughter. I teach early childhood education to high school students and when learning about child development, we cover information about breastfeeding in class. Every year, some of the students are uncomfortable with the idea of breastfeeding and say things like they think it is "gross." After reading about another culture, it makes me realize that they may have some beliefs about breastfeeding that are getting on the way of understanding the complete picture. I will definitely, share more from other cultures in class next year and ask more questions if a student make a negative comment. They may just have some misinformation like the some of the women in Lebanon.

References:

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th Ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers

Osman, H., Wick, L., & Zein, L. (2009) Cultural beliefs that may discourage breastfeeding among Lebanese women: a qualitative analysis, International Breastfeeding Journal, 4:12, DOI:10.1186/1746-4358-4-12. Retrieved from: http://www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/content/4/1/12

Week 1- The Birth of the Baby

Reflecting back on the birth of my daughter, I feel lucky the way things worked out. Everything went according to plan. My daughter was even born on her due date! My husband and I went to the hospital as contractions became more intense and about six hours later we had a little baby girl, delivered by my doctor without any complications. My husband was by my side through the entire process. I think his favorite part, besides first seeing our new baby, was helping the doctor cut the umbilical cord; he remembers how strong it was. After Ruby was born, my husband called our closest loved ones to announce the birth and share the good news. We stayed in the hospital for 24 hours to ensure recovery and a healthy start for our daughter. A few close family members and friends visited in the hospital, bearing gifts and well wishes. Family came and went for the next couple weeks to meet the new baby and help out a little. From our perspective all these events seemed like completely normal things. My husband took about a week off work, then had to return to the daily grind. I took more time to care for our new daughter and allow my body to recover from the pregnancy, but still continued on with the everyday chores and tasks. Things didn't go back to normal, but things changed for the better. We all learned new routines and learned about ways to bond with each other.

While researching another culture, I found that Chinese woman traditionally are supposed to rest for 30 days after delivery of a baby to ensure balance and good health. This resting period is referred to as the "sitting month." According to the tradition, women are not allowed to bathe or eat cold foods and drinks. Typically an older female relative comes to help for the month, and the new mother is encouraged to do very little but rest. Another tradition is that the female relative helps with the delivery process, instead of the father. During the pregnancy the woman is also advised to rest and eat nutritiously in order to have a healthy pregnancy.

I think that American woman are encouraged to take time off to rest, recover and take care of the new baby, but there are not as many rules to follow. Really woman are encouraged to go back to daily routines while including baby in those routines and adjusting to baby.  American fathers are encouraged to be a part of delivery, for example cutting the umbilical cord and remaining in the delivery room whenever possible for support. They are also encouraged to help take care of the baby and the mother after delivery.

As a professional in the early childhood field, I realize that it is important to learn about other cultures in order to understand child development from a broader perspective. We can't assume that all families that we work with share the same values, traditions and beliefs. By learning about other cultures we can understand families more clearly and learn about the reasons why people may do things a little differently than we do.

References:

Lim, L. (2011) For Chinese moms, birth means 30 days in pajamas. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2011/07/20/138536998/for-chinese-moms-birth-means-30-days-in-pajamas

New York University, (2006) Medical Chinese: Pregnancy and Child Birth. Retrieved from http://edinfo.med.nyu.edu/mc/culture/Pregnancy.html